Tools

The Basics

Modern technology has brought a great new number of ways to make prototypes, one of the most recently popular being 3D printing. When it comes to testing and developing your product idea, one of the best places to start is with the creation of prototypes. A prototype is an early sample model of a product, from which other models are created and built from. It serves as a proof of concept and allows many entrepreneurs to test their idea and use it to gather additional resources and funding.

We breakdown the most common form of prototyping a physical product: 3D Printing and dive into what to expect from your first prototype and why you should invest in one.

3D Printing

When it comes to prototyping, one of the best ways to create a physical model of your idea is through 3D Printing. 3D printing is the process of printing a number of solid materials (commonly plastics, metal, and composites) in 2D layers one on top of another to finally create a solid 3D model. The method by which the layers are printed varies from one type of machine to another but the fundamentals are the same.

3D printing does a great job of creating a prototype by allowing a person to go from a computer generated model of a design directly to a physical copy. In normal manufacturing this process can sometimes involve expensive tooling and machining, but with 3D printing the process is more straightforward and quick. It can give you a good idea of what your part will look and function like early on before you invest in full production.

Prototypes

3D Printing is just one great tool to use in creating a prototype but it does not cover every potential process required for creating a product. Products themselves sometimes have a number of moving parts or electronics that require more prototyping methods before they are complete. It’s important to keep in mind that a prototype should serve the purpose of answering your biggest questions and showing that your concept can work.

At RISTICH, we refer to engineering prototypes and works-like looks-like prototypes as two different things. For us, an engineering prototype may be made to show how part of the final product works or prove that what’s on the computer works in real life. These are usually ugly or rough in appearance and aren’t made to generally stand up to regular product standards. A works-like looks-like prototype on the other hand is built to look like and function like a final product and can take much more time and money to complete.